The Biden administration announced plans Wednesday to put the Houthi militant group back on a global terrorism list, after launching military attacks against the Yemen-based group in retaliation for its disruption of global trade in the Red Sea.
The decision is an escalation of the administration’s pressure campaign against the Iran-aligned group, which functions as the de facto government in parts of Yemen. The Houthis have fired dozens of missiles and drones at commercial ships transiting the Red Sea since Israel declared war against Hamas in Gaza, and the group has pledged to continue hitting ships there as long as Israel’s military campaign continues.
Washington will relist the Houthis as specially designated global terrorists, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
“Since November, the Houthis have launched unprecedented attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, as well as military forces positioned in the area to defend the safety and security of commercial shipping,” Blinken said in the announcement. “This designation seeks to promote accountability for the group’s terrorist activities. If the Houthis cease their attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, the United States will reevaluate this designation.”
Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser, said in a statement that the move is intended to impede the group’s funding and “hold them accountable” for targeting merchant and military vessels.
The listing will go into effect on Feb. 16, giving a window for the decision to be reversed if the Houthis halt attacks.
U.S. policymakers face a challenge as they seek to blunt the Houthi attacks and spare Yemeni civilians in the grips of a grievous famine. Imposing other sanctions against the group would risk making it more difficult to help people in need. The administration decided not to re-add the Houthis to its list of foreign terrorist organizations, which would have presented a larger impediment to getting humanitarian aid into the country, officials said.
“The ultimate goal of sanctions is to convince the Houthis to de-escalate and bring about a positive change in behavior,” a senior administration official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to explain calculations behind the decision.
The listing will take effect in 30 days “to ensure robust humanitarian carveouts are in place,” the official said. “We’re taking many steps to ensure these sanctions do the least harm to Yemeni people.”
The Trump administration declared the group — which had at the time already had a specially designated global terrorist listing — as a foreign terrorist organization in January 2021, despite humanitarian concerns over the impact that decision would have on the ability to deliver aid to areas in Yemen controlled by the group. That designation raised questions about whether arranging or attending meetings with Houthi officials would be legal, and how aid agencies would continue coordination with the group to organize essential deliveries.
Less than a month later, the Biden administration removed the Houthis from both terrorism lists, with an official saying at the time that the “decision has nothing to do with our view of the Houthis and their reprehensible conduct,” but was instead because of humanitarian concerns. The Houthis had been hitting civilian targets in Saudi Arabia for years with increasingly sophisticated weaponry provided by Iran.
Yemen is facing unprecedented levels of hunger, the World Food Program has said, with more than 21 million people requiring humanitarian assistance. Some aid groups worry that anything that could jeopardize food aid would worsen the crisis.
“This designation would add another level of uncertainty and threat for Yemenis still caught in one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises,” said Scott Paul, the associate director of peace and security at Oxfam America. “The Biden administration is playing with fire, and we call on them to avoid this designation immediately and prioritize the lives of Yemenis now.”
U.S. and coalition forces have launched three attacks on what they said were Houthi sites in Yemen in the past week — the latest of which were by U.S. forces on Tuesday — after the group ignored repeated international warnings to stop its attacks in the Red Sea.
The Houthi attacks have included the hijacking of a Bahamian-flagged cargo ship, the Galaxy Leader, and its crew on Nov. 19.
Blinken said during a Middle East tour last week that the Houthi attacks “have been aided and abetted by Iran with technology equipment, intelligence information, and they are having a real-life impact on people.”
U.S. Central Command said this week that U.S. forces recovered Iranian-made missile warheads and other related components destined for Yemen in an operation near Somalia last week that left two elite Navy SEALs lost at sea. An “initial analysis” showed that the weapons match those that the Houthis have used to target merchant ships in the Red Sea, Centcom said.
The Houthis seized control of Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, in 2014. A Saudi-led coalition began a campaign against the group the following year, leading to a protracted civil war and what the United Nations has previously described as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Missy Ryan contributed to this report.
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